The best way I know to mess up a great promotion is to offer a Sales Incentive that is out of balance with the sale. For instance, an incentive package that has a perceived value of $1200 does not work with a $200 sale. It’s just too good to be true!

Sometimes marketing managers shy away from using incentives because they think they can’t afford to incorporate them into their budget. They think they have to offer something irresistible, and therefore expensive, so they don’t even try. Others who do use incentives think that they have to exaggerate the value of the incentive to get the desired result. My experience is that neither is necessary or true.